Bee an Arts Champion


2021 honoree, Ashley Cornelius

The Bee an Arts Champion Award, presented by the Bee Vradenburg Foundation, honors the legacy of Bee Vradenburg by recognizing individuals who have demonstrated sustained, passionate and innovative leadership toward advancing the arts in the Pikes Peak region. The award includes an honorary grant to an organization of the recipient’s choice.

Ashley Cornelius has already left an indelible mark on our community and she’s just getting started. Ashley is the Co-Director of Poetry 719, winner of the Colorado Springs Independent, “Best Colorado Springs Artist” award, and was recently named Pikes Peak Poet Laureate among many other accomplishments. She has an innate ability to use art to confront important and challenging conversations like LGBTQ+ rights, racial equity, and body positivity by speaking truth and inviting others in to join the conversation. Ashley proves the adage that art creates community, but she takes it a step further, showing us all how art can change the world.

Past Winners

  • 2020

    Peggy Shivers

  • 2019

    Brett Andrus and Lauren Ciborowski

  • 2018

    Sharon Friedman

  • 2017

    Sally Hybl
    Murray and Betty Ross
    Pam Shockley Zalabak

  • 2016

    Gary Nicholson

  • 2015

    Jan Martin

  • 2014

    Lawrence Leighton Smith
    Daisy McGowan

  • 2013

    Ed and Mary Osborne

  • 2012

    Steve Wood

  • 2011

    Jan Johnson

  • 2010

    Jim Jackson
    Birgitta De Pree

  • 2009

    Thomas Wilson

  • 2008

    David Siegel

  • 2007

    Matt Mayberry

  • 2006

    Henry Tippie